Governance, Ethics & Compliance

Good corporate governance is essential to the long-term sustainable success of your organisation. Good governance can drive increased turnover, efficiency and profitability and is fundamental to strong business performance. The right governance framework will also help your organisation take the ethical decisions that will protect your brand and reputation. Finally, it will ensure that you meet all compliance requirements and deadlines. It is not just about what you do it is also about how you do it.

You can rely on us for expert, practical advice and support to design and implement corporate governance practices fit for your business and your challenges. We are experienced in working with any of the corporate governance codes and regimes. Our services include;

• An independent assessment of your current governance practices
• Defining and implementing a suitable governance framework
• Board and Committee performance evaluation
• Design of Board and Committee charters as well as delegation authorities and policies
• Board skills assessment and individual board member performance assessment
• Review of the Board relative to the strategic direction
• Culture assessments
• Governance training
• Strategic governance advice and mentoring to Boards and CEO

Ethics and Compliance

The financial penalties and reputational damage caused by regulatory breaches and unethical decisions can be significant and long lasting. Our team can help you build tailored ethics and compliance programs that drive better ethical decision-making and standards of compliance. Our goal is to help your organisation to deliver programs that are appropriately resourced, applied in good faith and that support ethical decision-making in practice.

Every organisation we work with has unique needs and present unique opportunities to drive value through ethics and compliance. We can support you with the following services:

• Design, implement, transform and operate Ethics & Compliance frameworks
• Integrating technology and analytics into your Ethics & Compliance programs
• Ethics & Compliance maturity assessments
• Ethics & Compliance training & awareness
• Design and implementation of fraud risk and control frameworks
• Culture assessments and deep dives into areas of concern
   

International corporate governance services

Our Governance, Risk and Compliance services are both global and integrated. Our professionals have deep understanding of the governance challenges that your organisation may face both locally and across multiple jurisdictions and capital markets. The BDO international network operates in over 160 countries so we can provide advice and support wherever in the world you need it. 

Corporate Governance codes and regimes

The UK Corporate Governance Code (UKCGC) enshrines principles that have evolved since Sir Adrian Cadbury’s committee first made recommendations on the UK’s system of corporate governance. Governance requirements for listed companies continue to evolve and place a strong emphasis on the duties and responsibilities of non-executive directors, within the framework of a unitary board. This increases focus on wider aspects of governance such as risk management, remuneration strategies, reporting and internal audit.

Shareholders, regulators, financiers and other stakeholders also continue to demand and expect good quality and transparent corporate governance standards. The FRC monitors listed companies’ compliance while activist shareholder groups also highlight and publicise poor governance. 

There are other established codes including the Quoted Companies Alliance Code (QCA code) and the Wates Corporate Governance Principles designed for large private businesses. AIM-quoted companies are required to disclose on their website which corporate governance code they use. Many small and mid-size AIM-quoted companies usually select the QCA code or the Wates Principles as a more appropriate code due to their size and stage of development. In the charity sector, the Charity Governance Code sets out the principles and recommended practice for good governance.

Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance

The Government’s Response to its’ consultation on ‘Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance’ confirmed proposals to introduce new reporting requirements for Public Interest Entities (PIEs).

For further information please refer to our UK Corporate Governance hub.

Corporate Reporting Requirements

Your corporate reporting landscape continues to evolve with the introduction of new requirements such as the Prompt Payment Code and the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR). In addition, your stakeholders may be demanding more rigorous and independently verified reporting around the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) agenda. 

You can rely on us to help you understand and respond to these changing requirements and support you in ensuring you have a compliant and sustainable reporting framework in the future. You can work closely with us and our Third Party Assurance team to provide increased confidence to your wider stakeholders.

Contact us